Cosmos / V.A.: "Korea Rock Medley"
“Go to the beach” refers to the first group sound album from 1970. It was led by label owner 홍탁 Kim Hong-Tak using bands and singers from his label as a kind of supergroup studio band making Korea's first rock music medley LP. It was released in 1990. The album was arranged by Gim Hyo-Guk and featured the contributions of Yu / Yoo Young-Chun (also from He5), Third-Generation (Kim In-Soo, Lee Sang-yong, Jeong In-sang) Sky Sea (Jang Jae-Hwan, Young Tae Kim), girl duo singers Kiri Kiri (Sin Yeon-Hui, Gang Myeong-Suk) and Cosmos.
The album starts most promising on “Intro” with an analogue synth bubbling and sequencing mixed with slow, slightly bluesy electric guitar, a bit like the electronics with guitar on Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon”. In the end of this track extra cosmic slide guitar effects are added like Gong.
But only after 2 minutes the Medley starts with a change of style, as a much more easy-going style. We hear a familiar rock track, arranged with soft vocals, easy drums and bass, organ textures, backing vocals, slightly funky guitars. It’s nice but also is something that became like a pop version of what once used to be psych-rock. Some sax solos can be heard in it too.
This approach works rather fine for a while as a rather exploitation version of psych-rock in more easy going 80s pop/rock/funk areas.
From one track to the next, the mix is arranged well as one long track, in that way it has something of an ambitious project but also of a context that might give something of a more serious karaoke or the approach like that of popular TV show as well. The sounds of the beach and later a motor can be heard. Some easy solos on organ, electric guitar, funky guitars accents appear more than once.
Especially the rhythms and vocal arrangements are more mainstream, which does not makes the progressive side lead the final decision, but the mainstream, even commercial idea, which more and more also will lead the album, and will also in the end starts to annoy as well.
I recognise the different originally great rock songs, which are now slightly more popular sounding, some solo funky drum/ guitar solos.
There’s still a good quiet instrumental on side 2, led by two electric guitars, with a water-dripping shower in background, coming from the beach. Then we have again a slightly funkier track, with synth. All songs are led by easy soft approach of male lead singers, we also have returns of female backing singers.
Most of side 2 show also less interesting songs. There still are a few electric solos, a bluesy rock element in the in organ, but in general, the drum/bass line is so lame it is as if a rhythm box is put on, just like a juke-box, it really begins to begins to annoy me as well, and I can not stand it to continue to listen to most of the rest of the album.
So, in conclusion you can consider this as a psychploitation album, which has good intentions, but leaves no progressive element develop well except for the intro.
It suffers from a changed time perspective which choses for commercial solutions, has a more 80s approach that makes a new mix of funk / pop / disco / rock as a more popular version, where especially rhythm (as a musical element) seems to be worked out the least.
In the tracks are included on Side A : “Go to the beach” (Gim Hui Gap), “A cup of coffee” (Shin Jung-Hyeon) , “Woman in the Rain” (Shin-Jung-Hyeon) , “How did it come to speak words of love” (Gim Hong Tak), Yuyoungchun (baeksunjin) , “Beloved ship is leaving” (Gim Young Gwang) , “Prairie Lights” (Kim Ho), “Halo” (Gim Jum-Heong) “Song of waterfowl” (Kim, Ho) , “I you” (Shin Jung-Hyeon) , “Beautiful Strong” (Sin Jung Hyeon) , “Seoul Our Words” (Bak Geon-Ho),...
Original LP: 유영춘, 제3세대, 하늘바다, 키리키리, 코스모스 국내음악
KOREA ROCK MEDLEY : All That Rock 23 [omnibus]
LP 1990-01-00성음 (SEL-RS 215)
CD 2012-08-08PAN's, 뮤직리서치 (MRCD-1209, 8809154802858)
프로듀서 : 김홍탁 편곡 : 김효국 노래 : 유영춘, 제3세대(김인수,이상용,정인상), 하늘바다(장재환,김영태), 키리키리(신연희,강명숙), 코스모스 피아노, 카모브, 하몬드 : 김효국 리듬앤리드기타 : 함춘호 베이스기타 : 김현규 섹스폰 : 김원영 퍼커숀 : 이건태 녹음 : 최권순 사진 : 강영민 디자인 : 이상구 프로듀서 : 김홍탁 제작 : 소리기획 (사운드 엔터프라이즈)
1. INTRO ; 2. 해변으로 가요 ; 3. 커피한잔 ; 4. 빗속의 연인 ; 5. 말하라 사랑이 어떻게 왔는가를 ; 6. 화 ; 7. 정든배는 떠나간다 ; 8. 초원의 빛 ; 9. 달무리 ; 10. 나는 너를 ; 11. 아름다운 강산 ; 12. 우리의 서울 ; 13. 장미 ; 14. 한동안 뜸했었지 ; 15. 어쩌다 마주친 그대 ; 16. 세계로 가는 기차 ; 17. 아니벌써 ; 18. 연 ; 19. 나도야 간다 ; 20. 나 어떻게 ; 21. 젊은 미소 ; 22. 그대로 그렇게 ; 23. 나는 못난이
'Go to the beach' is a hit in 1970 by Korea's first group sound 'Keyboys'. This album was released as LP in 1990 by Kim Hong-tak, who was the leader and guitarist of 'K-Boys', and the first rock-medley album in Korea with the best performers such as Ham Choon Ho and Kim Hyo-guk. It is also a rare record only released in small quantities.
